Alluvial
by Shizuyuki
Summary: Sasuke just wanted some peace and quiet away from family and school, nestled against the large oak in a secluded corner of the park—his perfect solitude. Needless to say, he wasn't too thrilled when a certain blond-haired moron decided to invade his personal space. SasuNaru. One-shot.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does.  
**Warnings:** Language, shounen-ai

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**Alluvial**  
_by Shizuyuki  
_

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Sasuke licked his finger, pulling back the skin of another page of his sketch pad. It had become a habit of his, one he had picked up from his mother no doubt. He didn't really understand why she or other adults did such a thing in the first place. It's not like the pages were that hard to grasp or separate. He honestly hated how such a ritual had been passed to him without reason—against his own volition.

Sighing, dark eyes stared lazily at the pristine white of the freshly turned page. He felt uninspired. Everything he had drawn over the past few weeks made his desire to touch pencil to paper grow less and less. Maybe it was another side effect of the wonders of puberty. Gain a voice worthy of belonging to a man but lose the imagination of a child. He could claim irony but he knew it wasn't.

Perhaps it was time for a new hobby. But what else really was there? He was sure he had tried them all. Sports—soccer, football, basketball, you name it. Anything solo was too easy and anything with teams too aggravating. Most of the other kids couldn't keep up. Even after they spent all their time practicing they were still worse than he was. Besides, his brother already claimed the title of sports aficionado. He wouldn't take any part of it, existing in his brother's shadow. He was his own person, not just the brother of a prodigy.

Looking back, he had even dabbled in the world of music at one point as well. It was a disaster. He recalled the first time he touched the silky lacquer of a violin, attempting to strum a simple C major scale. He would probably liken the sound that came out to that of a cat being strangled. And maybe it was a fluke, some result of his young age at the time. His parents had attempted to coax him to try again in middle school but Sasuke refused. He was positive that gene had called in sick the day he was born. Tone deaf to the core.

He closed his eyes in thought, thumping his head against the swollen trunk of the tree he had settled under. Without drawing he would have no real reason to lounge beneath the tall oak every day after school, relishing in the soothing shade of rustled leaves. And at that point he really would be some tragic recluse begging to be labeled a hipster. It irritated him, that word. He just liked to be alone—no nagging mother, no expecting father, and no asshole brother. This was his safe haven, nestled along the edge of the lake in a secluded corner of the park. Solitude at its finest—

"Shit, he's fast."

Sasuke looked up at the sound, surprised to see a boy about his age padding up to the tree. Great. He had jinxed himself. For the first time in months another human had decided to step foot into his bubble. And by the looks of it—the boy stumbled over a protruding root—a very dumb one at that. Still, the reason for such an intrusion of Sasuke's personal space made itself readily apparent as a man with brown hair, slicked neatly back into a pony tail, jogged across the bridge above.

"Naruto!"

He had yelled it. But with some reservation, as if trying to be respectful of his surroundings at the same time. Sasuke could only assume the name belonged to the boy cowering behind the tree trunk alongside him. Probably the idiot's father looking for him. He contemplated pushing the boy out from behind the cover of the tree but settled for what he did best—not caring. The last thing he wanted was to get caught up in the squabble of a bickering son and an agitated father. The only thing he could do was wait and hope for both of them to leave without a word.

Yeah right, maybe in another life.

Sasuke watched from the corner of his eye as the man bent over the tarnished metal railing, scanning the embankment. If the boy had been just a foot further to the right he was sure he would have been spotted. However, the man didn't linger very long. It felt like only a minute or two before he straightened up with a scowl and headed off in the other direction. Pity for him for being so easily fooled. But what did Sasuke care? The real threat was the boy next to him, the one currently sliding down the bark in relief. The one about to sit—

"Hey, watch it," Sasuke cursed, scooting to the side in order to keep the boy's leg from touching him.

The other nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned to stare at Sasuke, his eyes wide. "Way to sneak up on me asshole!"

Sasuke blinked, somewhat taken aback by the electrifying orbs of blue now boring through him. He had never seen eyes like that before. And what did he mean sneak up on him?

"I've been here the whole time. You're the one who sat down next to me. Moron."

"Oh," the boy rubbed the back of his head, smiling weakly, "sorry about that. I guess I am a—eh? Moron?!" He clenched his fist. "Take that back, bastard!"

Was he serious? He really didn't see him? They were only a few feet apart. There was no doubt now. The kid was an _absolute_ moron.

"Y'know, I've never known someone to make so little noise. Are you sure you're alive?"

"Noise?"

"Well yeah. Most people usually make some sort of tell. Like breathing." The boy took a heavy breath to demonstrate—as if Sasuke didn't know what breathing was. "But you're more along the lines of," he paused in thought, "a ghost!"

What the hell was this boy on about?

"Anyway," he continued, noting the other's claim to muteness. "You're lucky I didn't trip over you. Being so quiet like that. My hearing is good but it's not _that_ good."

Sasuke's raised an eyebrow. Does that mean—?

"Are you… blind?"

The other blinked, confusion spreading across his features. Though, it wasn't long until something appeared to click in the boy's head. Sasuke could almost see the light bulb flickering on—slowly.

"Ah, I guess I didn't say that part, huh?" he laughed, sounding nervous. "I always do that."

Sasuke stayed silent, causing the other boy to scrunch his nose in annoyance.

"You're weird," he stated plainly. "Most people tend to partake in conversation, y'know."

"Hn."

The boy's eyebrow twitched. "Anyway. My name is Uzumaki—"

"Naruto. Yes, I heard." He was pretty sure everyone within a five mile radius had heard.

Naruto grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess he did shout it. That old man," he said casually, stretching his arms above his head. "He was more persistent than I thought."

Sasuke turned back to stare at the white of his sketch book, twisting his pencil between his fingers. "Well he's gone now. So you can leave," he said passively, hoping the other would take the (very obvious) hint.

Naruto shook his head, "No way! If I stay here I have a much better chance of not being seen than I do running around this park like a mad man."

"Well you can't stay here."

"Says who?"

"I do."

"So?"

"So," he bit out, a trace of irritation lacing his voice. "Get lost."

Naruto folded his arms over his chest. "Make me."

Annoying and stubborn. Just his luck. "What are you, six?"

Naruto stuck his tongue out. Maybe six was being too generous. Four? Yeah, four.

"Whatever," Sasuke muttered, running a hand through his hair. "Just stop bothering me."

He turned back to his sketch pad, the page still blank. At the rate the other managed to move his mouth he knew he would never get anything done. And it definitely didn't seem like the idiot would be leaving anytime soon. He would most likely be better off heading home. But, of course, that meant having to interact with his family, and Sasuke wasn't sure which was worse—them or the boy.

"The least you could do is tell me your name."

Definitely the boy.

"Why should I?"

"I told you mine."

"You mean that guy shouted it to everyone in this park," Sasuke corrected, watching as a family of ducks waddled clumsily into the calm glassy water of the lake not too far from him.

"That didn't count," Naruto said with a huff. "And I already introduced myself properly so it's your turn."

Sasuke looked at the boy, surprised to find him somehow staring right back. For a blind person he was still quite sharp. Stubborn too.

He rolled his eyes. "Uchiha Sasuke," he muttered, before turning his attention back to the lake.

Naruto's face lit up in triumph. "See. Now how hard was that?"

Harder than you know.

"Well it's nice to meet you, Sasuke. Even though you seem like kind of a jerk I guess you're not all that bad."

Silent again. But Naruto had already become accustomed to it. This time, however, he decide not to continue prodding the other with small talk. It was fairly tiring trying to even get a single syllable out of his neighbor. Almost like he was talking to a wall or the tree they were resting against. And, to be honest, he was content enough to just have even managed to get the boy's name.

Sasuke, on the other hand, had taken the other's silence as the makings of some sort of miracle. Some guy might have managed to turn water into wine but to get this boy to keep his mouth shut was a whole different story. He smirked, twirling his pencil around his fingers. Right. Back to drawing. He finally had an idea of what he wanted to sketch too.

Though, unfortunately for Sasuke, it wasn't long before curiosity got the better of a certain someone.

"What's that?" Naruto asked, his ears visibly twitching with each scratch of pencil. The strokes were too elongated for writing. "Are you drawing?"

Sasuke ignored him, retracing some of the lines he had etched.

"Hey, I asked you something jerk!" Naruto leaned forward, clenching his fists as the other continued to draw in silence. "I know you can hear me. You're not the one with the disability here."

"Hello?" The word was long and drawn out. The epitome of annoying—at least in Sasuke's mind. But then again, most things annoyed him.

"Yes," Sasuke finally answered, aggravation evident in his tone. "Now will you shut up and let me concentrate." He bit the end of his eraser. "Or better yet, _leave_."

"I already told you I'm not so you better get used to it."

Sasuke almost snorted. Like anyone could get used to being in the presence of such an obnoxious loudmouth. Not to mention the constant twitching—couldn't he just sit still for even a second?

"So are you an artist or something?"

"Hn."

"I've never met an artist before. Well there was this one guy, Deidara. He was more of a sculptor though. Kind of a nut job if you ask me. Never would stop talking about what real art is or whatever. I wonder what happened to him..."

Sasuke groaned inwardly, trying his best to drown out the unwelcome visitor's ramblings—to pretend he was still alone. The boy was even worse than Sakura was, something Sasuke had never thought possible. If only he _were_ deaf like the other had previously insinuated. His life would be much easier. Then again, he would still be able to see the idiot's mouth moving a mile a minute. So blind and deaf it was. Maybe they could trade.

"So what are you drawing?" The boy asked eagerly, finally ending his rant about who knows what.

"Why don't you look for yourself."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, "Really funny, asshole."

Sasuke smirked slightly. It's not like he made it a habit of making fun of people with disabilities but he couldn't help but find enjoyment in teasing the boy.

"I draw manga."

"What's that?"

"Japanese-style comics. Like drawing a cartoon on paper."

"That's kind of cool I guess." Naruto pursed his lips, "Doesn't really seem like you though. It's hard to imagine someone so stiff drawing something that's supposed to make people laugh."

"Comics don't have to be funny." In fact, most of the manga Sasuke read was rarely on the side of comedy. He was more into dystopian settings which were usually very dark and, of course, violent.

"Well I know _yours_ aren't," Naruto joked. Sasuke just ignored him, continuing to trace along the lines he had drawn, trying to get the shading right.

A few minutes passed before Naruto tapped on the boy's shoulder, earning a well-deserved—at least in Sasuke's opinion—scowl. "What?" he growled. "And don't touch me."

Naruto didn't seem to hear him though, too focused on what he wanted to say. "Do you," he paused awkwardly, as if too embarrassed to ask what was on his mind. "Do you ever paint stuff?"

"Sometimes."

"Really?! Then you must know a lot about color."

Sasuke didn't answer, not really understanding what the boy was getting at.

Naruto rocked forward slightly. "Can you… teach me some?"

"Some what?" Sasuke asked, irritation creeping back into his voice. He hated when people were cryptic with their questions.

"Colors," Naruto said flatly, wiggling his feet anxiously.

"Don't you go to school? Even if you're blind you should know their names."

"Of course I know_ of_ colors. I'm not an idiot."

Sasuke snorted. Naruto chose to ignore him.

"It's just..." he paused, trying to formulate his thoughts. "people always go with the typical orange is orange or yellow is yellow. Like that means a thing to me. No one has actually taken the time to really _explain_ them to me."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. It made sense though. No sighted person would really understand how to describe color to someone who had never seen anything before. No one truly thinks about what color is—you just know.

"Why don't you ask your parents?" Sasuke said simply, as if it were that obvious.

Naruto shook his head slowly, "My parents were never around."

"Then who was that looking for you earlier?"

"Not my dad, if that's what you're thinking. Even I know we don't look alike. For a sighted person you don't seem very observant."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Of course he could tell. That doesn't mean the boy couldn't be more to his mother's likeness. But he knew it wasn't worth the effort to discuss the _wonders_ of Genealogy with such an idiot.

"If you really want to know,"—Sasuke didn't—"he is my adoptive father. My real parents died in a car accident. The same accident where I lost this," he waved a hand in front of his unseeing eyes.

His sight—right. Got it.

Sasuke couldn't help but frown at the words though, watching as Naruto's eyes softened slightly. To lose his parents and his sight at the same time. Even he could empathize with the boy, even if just a little.

"How old?"

Naruto didn't answer right away, somewhat confused by the question. However, it didn't take him long to finally put the pieces together. "I was barely two-years-old I think. I don't remember anything from before," he said softly, fiddling with the hem of his shirt.

"Well, at least I don't think I do," he added, recalling a time where he had once woken up from a dream, certain he had seen his parent's faces.

Sasuke nodded to himself in understanding. He knew even his own memories cut off at about age five. It was almost scary how easily humans could forget. Who knows what kind of torture he could have been put through by his psychopath of a brother.

"So? Will you?"

Sasuke bit his lip, "I really don't think I'm the one to—"

"Please!" Naruto beamed, his eyes pleading. "You're the first artist I've met that's even remotely normal. I bet if anyone can tell me it's probably you."

Heat rose to Sasuke's face at the sight, causing him to stare down at his now clenched fists, unsure of why he suddenly felt so embarrassed.

"Fine," he grumbled, trying his best to look anywhere but at those glowing eyes. It was strange. Even though the boy was blind his eyes didn't seem to reflect the disability much. They were astonishingly vibrant—so full of life. And now that Sasuke thought about it, the few blind people he had met in his short life usually kept their eyes closed.

"Yay!" Naruto cheered, the sudden outburst pulling Sasuke from his stupor. "So what color should we start with?!"

Sasuke sighed, straightening up against the tree in order to re-gain his composure. They were just eyes. Not something to gush over. Especially a boy's eyes.

"You tell me, dobe."

Naruto quirked an eyebrow. "D-Dobe? What does that mean?"

"Just pick a color."

"Hmm," he scratched his chin. Sasuke could have sworn he saw steam seeping from the boy's ears. He better not fry his brain over such a simple decision. But then again, he wouldn't put it past an idiot like him.

"It's really not that difficult—"

"Okay, okay. Sheesh. Green then."

Sasuke nodded, immediately looking down at the grass bending around his feet.

"Green is…" he paused, plucking a blade of grass and twisting it around his finger. Perhaps hoping that just seeing the color would give him some idea as to how to explain it to the blond-haired boy.

"Green is what?" Naruto asked, annoyed. Obviously unaware of why the other had stopped speaking.

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. The boy could be more patient after all. It's not like it was that easy. He was starting to question why he had even agreed to such a task in the first place.

"Green is like life," Sasuke blurted suddenly, unsure of how the words had even made it past his lips.

"Life?" Naruto asked quizzically, his eyebrows raised, trying to make sense of the other's words. Sasuke slumped back against the tree, knowing full well the other wouldn't get it. Even he didn't understand what he had meant.

"Ah! I get it," Naruto exclaimed, snapping his fingers.

"Get what?" Sasuke asked incredulously. There was no way the boy had actually managed to _get _something from such a stupid metaphor.

"That you," Naruto scrunched his nose, "really suck at this."

Sasuke almost punched him. Way to bite the hand that feeds him.

"It's not like I've ever done this before," Sasuke chided. "Be grateful that I even agreed to it in the first place."

Naruto twisted a finger lazily in his ear, uncaring. "Yeah, yeah. But I thought an artist would be more," he shrugged, "imaginative."

Sasuke glared at the boy, fully aware that he wouldn't see it. "Fine, then you tell me what you know about green and we'll go from there."

"What I know? How will that help?"

"Just do it," Sasuke said with annoyance, tapping the bud of his eraser against his sketch pad.

Naruto crossed his legs. "Okay, okay. I guess green… I've heard plants are green. Like grass and leaves. But then again flowers are apparently all sorts of colors and even leaves can change in the fall. How bizarre is that?"

"What else?" Sasuke asked quickly, trying to keep the idiot from falling into one of his lengthy digressions.

"I guess it also sounds like something I wouldn't want to eat. Especially 'cause Iruka makes me eat broccoli and that stuff is gross."

That was reasonable. He could work with that. "Okay. Then think of it this way. Green is like being sick—"

"You mean like a fever?" Naruto interrupted, scratching the side of his head.

"No. Like when your stomach is queasy and you feel like throwing up."

"Ew, gross!" Naruto shouted, recalling the last time he had been on the verge of vomiting. "I knew I hated broccoli for a reason!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "It's not that bad."

"Does that mean you like green?" Naruto asked suspiciously, leaning forward with his hands on his knees.

"I don't hate it," Sasuke stated plainly.

"That's not really an answer," Naruto argued, but he wasn't at all surprised by the boy's non-committal response.

"Hn."

This would be the point where Naruto would roll his eyes. "What's your favorite color then?"

"I don't have one."

"Figures," Naruto muttered, rubbing his nose. "You don't seem like the kind of person to have a favorite anything."

Sasuke chewed his tongue, "Next color."

"How about yellow?"

"Yellow is boring," he said, watching Naruto's blond hair bounce shamelessly on his head. Definitely boring—for the most part.

"That doesn't help, jerk!"

"Like I care. Pick another one."

"Then what about red?" Naruto asked with frustration. He was beginning to wonder if the other was even remotely artistically inclined, always dodging the questions.

"Red is hard," Sasuke said, thinking aloud. "Red can be a lot of things."

"Yeah, I know—fire, stoplights, cherries."

Sasuke shook his head, forgetting for a moment that the other couldn't see. It's not like he was used to talking to a blind person yet.

"No, I mean. Red can be anger, embarrassment, determination, or…" His words trailed off, not wanting to say the word. He didn't really get why. Probably because he didn't care too much for the emotion to begin with. Especially since hoards of girls had made a habit of blurting the word out to him without even considering what it meant. It was pathetic.

"Or what?" Always the curious one.

Sasuke sighed, leaning his head back to stare at the thick swath of waxy green leaves clinging to the branches above him. "Or love," he finally said, trying his best not to make his discomfort evident to the other boy.

"Love?!" Naruto spluttered, his eyes wide. "Like—like sex?!"

"No, you moron." Sasuke wanted to kill him. "Like being around the person you love. Even if it's just being near them."

Naruto bit his lip, trying to understand. A devious grin spread across his face, "Do you love someone?"

"No," he answered easily. And it was true. He was sure had never felt that way towards another person, at least in the romantic sense.

Naruto leaned in with narrow eyes, as if he could scrutinize the boy. "Sounds to me like you're lying!"

"Whatever," Sasuke muttered, ignoring the childish jab. He also couldn't help but notice the other's face being only about a foot from his own. "Just pick the next color already."

Naruto frowned as if he had just been told he wasn't getting any dessert. He folded his arms and fell back against the tree. "Okay, tell me about black and white then. I really don't get it."

"What don't you get?"

"Well, how can white be all the colors put together and black be the absence of all color?" The boy sounded as if he were trying to discuss the theory of relativity.

"Looks like you do go to school," Sasuke said with a half-smirk.

Naruto stuck out his tongue.

"Well don't you already see black?" Sasuke knew the question sounded dumb but he didn't really know how else to phrase it. He had never truly questioned it before now. What did blind people even _see_ to begin with?

Naruto hummed, rubbing his nose. "I don't know—I guess. I've never really thought about it." Typical.

"Describe it." Sasuke felt like a therapist. Though, unfortunately for him, he had the worst patient in the world.

"Well right now, since we're out here," he swung his arms out wide, "I can sort of tell it's very bright because of the sun. But I can also kind of see the light bending because of the leaves."

"What about when it's night?"

"I don't see anything when it's dark," Naruto grumbled, as if the answer were obvious.

Sasuke shifted slightly, "Well then that's what black is." Or, as long as what the boy was telling him was correct, it was at least the closest thing to black that he could think of.

"Really?" Naruto asked, sounding skeptical. "That's strange. Why would anyone like that? It's so… dull."

"Black is clean and accents most other colors. It's actually used quite prominently." The statement was nearly robotic, like he was reading something from a textbook.

"I guess I can understand that," Naruto said, hesitantly. Though, he was sure there was more to it than that. It didn't seem right to him that people would find enjoyment in something that made him feel so—lonely.

"What about white then?"

"Same thing. But opposite." It was a lazy answer but Sasuke didn't care. He could only explain so much. He was also sure the boy could only comprehend so much as well.

Naruto furrowed his brow, "What does that mean?"

"Figure it out," he chided. Naruto huffed.

"Next color."

"Blue," Naruto said swiftly, already used to the ritual. Of course, he had also made sure to think of which color to choose next beforehand in order to keep the bastard on his toes. He was tired of looking like the slow one.

"Blue," Sasuke began, staring numbly down the slope of the embankment as he tried to collect his thoughts. One would think he would look to the sky for answers but that would be too formulaic.

"Blue—I would say blue is cold," Sasuke stated, looking back up to meet the other's eyes. Big mistake. "B-But I guess you could say it's also warm." Sasuke could feel the heat rising to his cheeks as the words escaped his lips without much thought, unsure of why he had even said them.

"Cold but also warm," Naruto repeated slowly, as if to note the shifting of gears in his brain. Sasuke bit his lip, thankful that the other couldn't see. Never in his life did he think he would be glad that someone was blind.

"That's your worst description so far!" Naruto shouted, pointing an accusatory finger. "It makes zero sense!"

It didn't make any sense to Sasuke either. Just by looking in the other's eyes—to feel like that. To be so enthralled by the swirling azure of his irises, his stomach twisting into knots. It definitely made no sense at all. He had never felt something like this before in his life. It bothered him.

"Just forget it," Sasuke growled, resisting the uncharacteristic urge to throw his hands up in the air in frustration. "This obviously isn't working."

"Aw, come on!" Naruto whined. "I take it back."

"No."

"Please."

"No."

Naruto crossed his arms in defeat, slumping back against the slick husk of the tree trunk. "And here I thought I was actually starting to like you too." There was a brief pause before the boy's eyes widen from the realization of what he had just said. "N-Not like that. I mean—you're just not as big of a jerk as I had originally thought."

"Anyway," Sasuke said calmly, ignoring the idiot's spluttering, "It's getting late." The sun had already begun to move closer to the horizon, ribbons of orange unraveling in the sky. If he didn't leave soon he wouldn't be home in time for dinner and he would never hear the end of it from his mother. It would also give his annoying brother the chance to rub it in as well, something Sasuke felt to be much worse than his mother's nagging.

"I'm leaving," he stated plainly, carefully sliding his sketch pad into his backpack before standing up.

Naruto tried to grab the boys arm, "Wait—"

"What now?" Sasuke growled.

"I..." he said slowly, rubbing the back of his head, "I don't have my cane to help me know where I'm walking."

"You managed to get yourself this far didn't you?" The boy had practically ran through the park without any assistance. If Sasuke had known the other was blind prior to him slinking behind the tree he seriously would have doubted it.

"Well, yeah. But that was when there was more sunlight and people. It's easy for me to tell where I'm going when I can make out shadows and sounds. Now it's too dark."

Sasuke sighed inwardly, knowing where this was going. "You really don't think things through, do you?"

"Not like I meant to leave without it. I was in a hurry… in case you've forgotten," Naruto mumbled guiltily, knowing that he wouldn't be in such a situation if he hadn't been running from Iruka in the first place.

Sasuke hadn't forgotten. Though it did feel like hours had passed since the man had run by looking for the boy. He slung his backpack around his shoulders, "Why were you even running from him in the first place?"

"We had an argument," Naruto's hair covered his eyes. "I don't want to talk about it."

A small silence crept between the two before Naruto looked up, his expression unreadable. However, Sasuke knew exactly what the boy was about to say next. He really wished he wouldn't.

"So, can you—uh—take me home?" Just as he predicted. While every inch of him screamed no, he knew he couldn't just leave him to his own devices. He also didn't want to hear about how some blind kid was mugged in the park on the news tomorrow.

"Here," Sasuke extended his hand. However, he almost slapped himself in the forehead as the boy simply stared forward. He reached down and grabbed the other's arm, pulling him upward.

A small noise escaped Naruto's throat in surprise. "Ouch, bastard. You don't have to be so rough."

"Maybe you shouldn't be so weak. And don't stand so close to me," Sasuke hissed, watching as a couple passing by snickered to each other. They didn't exactly try to hide it and he was sure Naruto had heard them too as the boy was obviously trying to conceal the light blush forming on his cheeks. It's not like Sasuke cared what they thought, he just didn't like others invading his personal space. Allowing the boy to hold his arm was already way more than he was comfortable with.

"This is just as embarrassing for me as it is for you y'know," Naruto muttered, all but confirming Sasuke's suspicions. Naruto rarely let people lead him. He couldn't stand relying on others. It made him feel small and feeble. And for Sasuke to be one of the few to do so—it made him really regret leaving his cane at home.

"Where do you live?" Sasuke asked abruptly, wanting to get the excursion over with as soon as possible.

"Not too far from here. Out the south end and down a few blocks."

That was lucky. Just a few streets over from his own home. Then again, he wasn't really sure that living so near to the idiot could be considered a good thing, at least not in the long run. He made a mental note to keep such information to himself, though.

"Let's go," Sasuke said softly, moving carefully up the embankment so that they were now standing on the concrete walkway. He was thankful that the lampposts had finally switched on, making it easier to guide the boy without feeling like he was going to make a misstep.

"Bridge," Sasuke directed.

Naruto's grip on the other's arm tightened slightly as he felt his feet move from the sidewalk to the curving wood of the bridge.

"What?" Sasuke asked, noting the change in pressure on his arm.

"Nothing," Naruto muttered, trying to concentrate on following the arch of the bridge as best he could. "Just warn me a little earlier next time."

"Fine," Sasuke said plainly. He waited until he could see the other end. "We're exiting in a few feet."

"Okay."

The rest of the walk had been much easier, and quieter. It actually relaxed Sasuke in a way, guiding the boy. He had made a conscious effort to keep his strides steady and equally paced with the other and had taken Naruto's silence as a form of appreciation.

Or maybe the boy was still embarrassed to be holding onto his arm. How stupid. It's not like they were holding hands. And, aside from that first couple, none of the other people they had walked past had even cared as to even look at them. In any case, it should've been blatantly obvious that he was assisting the blind boy, not enjoying a date in the park.

It must have only been about thirty minutes before they had finally reached Naruto's street. Sasuke really had to wonder to himself just how the trek had ended up going so well. He had half expected at least one mishap to occur—maybe the idiot tripping over his own feet and blaming it on him. But aside from the on and off death grip on his forearm, he hadn't exactly hated it.

"The one with the red door?"

"Huh?" Naruto looked up, a dazed expression on his face. It was almost as if the boy had been sleep walking the entire time. "Oh," he realized they had stopped moving, "I think so."

"You don't even know the color of your own door?"

"Blind," Naruto pointed to his eyes. "Remember?"

Sasuke snorted, as if that was really an excuse. "Then which one?"

"It should be number three-zero-eight," Naruto said slowly, as if each number came to his mind one at a time.

"So the one with the red door," Sasuke repeated, noting the numbers that hung sloppily nearby.

Naruto glared, removing his hand from the other boy's arm. Sasuke frowned, feeling suddenly colder. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, watching as Naruto walked steadily up the steps of his home.

The boy looked back at Sasuke. "Hey, uh, Sasuke" he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "thanks for you know—today. And helping me get home too. It really did help."

"Hn."

Naruto laughed inwardly. Once a jerk always a jerk. But he didn't care. He had already painstakingly learned just what kind of person Sasuke was from their earlier conversations. He knew it was just the boy's way of reciprocating, even if it was a bit haphazard.

The blond-haired boy smiled softly, his eyes glinting with the light of a nearby streetlamp. "I guess I'll see you then!"

Naruto knew the chances of that happening were slim. He tried to tell himself he didn't mind, especially after having been walked home in such a humiliating way. But he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He had actually enjoyed his time with Sasuke more than he was willing to admit.

Sighing, he reached for the doorbell, knowing full well that he would be resigning himself to the mercy of his adoptive father. He could only hope the man wasn't too mad. It's not like this was the first time he had run off alone.

"—Naruto."

The boy stopped just before he hit the button, turning his head around to acknowledge the other, "Huh?"

Sasuke wrapped a hand around the spot on his arm where Naruto's had been earlier. "I think I know how to explain red now."

"Really?!" Naruto's face lit up with excitement. He was glad to be spared from hearing Iruka lecture him, even if it was only for a few minutes more.

"Yeah," he said slowly. "It actually has something to do with… blue," The word fell dizzily from his tongue, his gaze fixated on the staunch red paint of the door. He walked up the steps so that he was only a few inches from the other, causing Naruto to stumble backwards.

"W-With blue?" Naruto asked nervously, fully aware of their close proximity. His back was now resting firmly against the door.

Sasuke didn't notice, his body moving on its own. He knew he had been fighting the feeling all day but hadn't fully understood what it meant. But seeing those eyes again, a swirling current of hazy sapphire—he couldn't ignore it any longer.

"Just stand still. I'll show you," Sasuke commanded, placing his hands on the boy's shoulders. He had nowhere to go now. They both knew it.

"Show me?" Naruto asked slowly, trying his best not to move like he had been told, confusion still evident in his voice.

Warm breath ghosted against the edge of his lips.

His eyes went wide. "What—"

Sasuke leaned in.

* * *

END.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please tell me what you thought, I would really appreciate it!


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